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Nick4228

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I'm sorry if you all find this as a repeated question, but in all my searching i couldn't find a good answer. About 6 months ago I made a barleywine, started out about 1.200 ended up about 1.039 (I know a bit high... but i went with it...). Anyways, I tried some over the weekend, it tasted good, but was flat, no carbonation. I figure after 6 months is should be carbonated, so I'm assuming the yeast wasn't all that healthy, if living at all when I bottled. So I want to carbonate it. Assuming its never been carbonated, it's probably still primed, so can i just empty all the bottles into a bucket, add some dry yeast (beer or wine) and just rebottle it and carb it that way, or is there a better way to go about it?

Thanks ahead of time
 
Im no expert but I would just make sure the yeast you pitch can handle the high alcohol level.
 
Maybe just opening the bottles and dropping a small amount of yeast into each would be a better idea. six months sounds like a long time but I've heard that big beers often take that or longer to carb up.
 
bomberman said:
Maybe just opening the bottles and dropping a small amount of yeast into each would be a better idea. six months sounds like a long time but I've heard that big beers often take that or longer to carb up.

I thought of that as well, but it seems more difficult to be precise..."a small amount" doesn't seem exact enough... if I get it all in a bucket, I can see the total volume, then calculate how much yeast to use for the entire batch, mix it in, then divide it out again into bottles...
 
What temperature are you storing it at? If it's too cool, it's not going to carb or it's going to take a very long time to carb.
 
I thought of that as well, but it seems more difficult to be precise..."a small amount" doesn't seem exact enough... if I get it all in a bucket, I can see the total volume, then calculate how much yeast to use for the entire batch, mix it in, then divide it out again into bottles...

Would not doing that risk oxidizing the beer?
 
yeah, I wouldn't try to transfer all of it to another container far too much work

I would either let it continue to sit as is or dose each bottle with a small amount of champagne yeast or other high alcohol tolerant yeast

or to do a real experiment you can try different approaches on a portion of the bottles and then report back which worked the best!
 
rehydrate said yeast in water (or use liquid) in a sanitized container, get a children's medicine dropper with ML gradients like this,

medicine-dropper-310.jpg


Sanitize it, open beer bottle, suck up slurry into sanitized eyedropper, squirt 1 ml of yeast into bottle, then re-cap. Give the bottles a shake, and then walk away for another 2-3 weeks to give that yeast a chance to do the job.

Is that "precise" enough for you?
 
Do you think using a different yeast, such as champagne yeast, might ferment some of the residual sugars and cause bottle bombs?
 
I thought of that as well, but it seems more difficult to be precise..."a small amount" doesn't seem exact enough... if I get it all in a bucket, I can see the total volume, then calculate how much yeast to use for the entire batch, mix it in, then divide it out again into bottles...

You don't need to be exact, as long as there is some fresh alcohol tolerant yeast in the bottle. It's better than risking oxidation and contamination in your 6 month old beer, plus releasing any co2 that might already be dissolved,
 
Revvy said:
rehydrate said yeast in water (or use liquid) in a sanitized container, get a children's medicine dropper with ML gradients like this,

Sanitize it, open beer bottle, suck up slurry into sanitized eyedropper, squirt 1 ml of yeast into bottle, then re-cap. Give the bottles a shake, and then walk away for another 2-3 weeks to give that yeast a chance to do the job.

Is that "precise" enough for you?

It was perfect until you turned into a jerk
 
It was perfect until you turned into a jerk

Dude - asking for help, getting it (albeit with a smart aleck comment at the end), then calling the person with the best answer to your question a jerk just isn't a good way to get started on a message board...

Bad form, sir.
 
stratslinger said:
Dude - asking for help, getting it (albeit with a smart aleck comment at the end), then calling the person with the best answer to your question a jerk just isn't a good way to get started on a message board...

Bad form, sir.

You are completely right, and I apologize, but one might say you might not want to answer questions in the beginners area, if your annoyed with answering beginners questions...
 
You could always use those so called carb drops or pills or whatever they are. Pop the top drop one or two in and wait. At least that's how I think they work, never needed them before. Hope this helps.
 
I don't really think Revvy was annoyed or trying to be a smartass. Sometimes on message boards what might be tongue in check or friendly banter does not translate well. I have not been here long, but I have searched a lot. More often than not Revvy is giving people lots of good answers and helping out, his knowledge has been of immense help for me while getting started in this hobby. I would chalk this one up to misunderstanding.
 
WTF!?!?!?!

You said a few pinches wasn't precise enough for you...I just asked if that was good enough for you...wasn't trying to be a jerk at all...If anyone has been it's YOU for calling me one....

You're the one who didn't think they guy who said to simply sprinkle yeast's answer was good enough for you....Sprinkling a few grains of yeast into each bottle is a perfectly viable solution for most folks who've done it....

..."a small amount" doesn't seem exact enough...

I just asked if it was......
 
I did a Belgian Dark Strong Ale right around the same OG. It really did not carb up after 4 months at 70+ degrees. I would only get the slightest "hiss" with really 0 carbonation in the glass. I then sprinkled a little bit of Windsor ale yeast into each bottle and obviously recapped. After about another 2 months I am finally getting the carbonation I was looking for. It takes a really long time for big beers to carb especially if you are using stressed yeast. Sprinkle some dry or get or add some liquid and give it another few months, which will be perfect for the butt hole winter months!
 
You could always use those so called carb drops or pills or whatever they are. Pop the top drop one or two in and wait. At least that's how I think they work, never needed them before. Hope this helps.

The problem in this instance is NOT sugar... but tired yeast. Yes fresh sugar will probably be a good idea, but fresh yeast is more important...The worst thing you can do to a non-carbed beer is to add more sugar to it if you already have and it hasn't carbed. If the yeast ever were to wake up and start working again, you would then have bottle bombs.

If you ever have a carb issue and you already added sugar.....DON'T EVER add more sugar. Always add yeast first. Let the yeast consume any sugars already in the bottle.
 
Haha, Revvy, I really am sorry... you've been very helpful, I'm willing to accept that I was a jerk. So your saying I can use the dry yeast dry, and just use a few grains, as opposed to rehydrating it first... is there a benefit to rehydrating it first? Also, on a sidenote, can I use this as an opportunity to dry the beer out slightly, or will that inevitably happen by adding new yeast?
 
I know this question was not directed to me but yes I would rehydrate. The yeast will most likely not "enjoy" their new high gravity home and we all know yeast do not possess the ability to regulate what passes through their membranes when rehydrating. I'm no biologist but I would assume this would be a very hostile environment for them. I did not but still got decent results.
 
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